By; Fadil Maloku, sociologist
The curious reader, I am very convinced that from the title of the article, will immediately ask: What are these two paradigms and are they complementary or competitive with each other? To immediately quench this curiosity, hand on heart, I am still unclear about it too! I have written three or four articles about the “Third Republic”, as well as about the protests in Albania. However, now that the “five demands” of the protesters at the rally held in front of the Prime Minister’s Office have come to light, the curiosity about where these protests are going is growing at the “speed of light”.
For an experienced sociologist, the demands published for the first time after three weeks of protest certainly provide the opportunity for interpretation and analysis. We say this because the demands that are now being put forward have, in a way, surpassed the thematic protest phase (environment, cultural heritage, strategic investments) and are gradually taking on the features of a civic movement with ambitions for awareness and institutional and constitutional transformation of Albania. Viewed from this perspective, we have the impression that through these demands we can also “read” some interesting sociological assumptions for the all-Albanian public.
First, these protests, slowly but surely, as I see them, are transforming from a typical civic movement into a typical constitutive movement. What does this mean? Referring to the history of the beginning of the protest (May 31, 2026), which began as a spontaneous reaction to some government environmental actions, to now follow in the redesign or fundamental change of many rules and norms of the current political system, we understand that their ambitions and goals are acquiring new normative attributes within democratic rules and values.
Second, the request for a technical government is not only an expression of the crisis of confidence in the government and opposition, who with their decision-making have caused obvious damage to the Albanian national and state interests. Therefore, the request for a technical government should be seen only as a transitional phase towards a “new social contract” with the mature and now emancipated Albanian citizenry. In fact, this request is clearly showing us that the political rotation of a caste with the same faces of politicians will no longer be tolerated. And, instead of poltroonist and patronage criteria, in the “new contract…” the standards and criteria of meritocracy, rule of law, public responsibility, accountability and transparency, as the entire civilized world has, must be installed.
The third, most attractive demand seems to be the one for the “referendum”, which in fact demonstrates a very high degree of distrust, not so much towards the institution of the Assembly, but towards the “parliamentarians”, who are not determined by the popular vote, but by the caste of realtors and patronage agents loyal to the government and opposition.
Fourth, the use of the term “new social contract” is quite significant, as a criterion, as well as a new democratic standard and quality. If we “translate” and interpret it in sociological language and terms, it follows that the “old social contract”, or the former agreement between the state and citizens that was established in the 90s, has already lost its political and moral legitimacy.
Fifth, the emphasis and addressing of the request that unequivocally uses the word “sovereign” among the four others addressed by the organizers, and which were read on their behalf by the former KLA fighter, Dritan Goxhaj, is also a strong political message for the former Albanian political establishment. The introduction of this term is, without a doubt, an “early warning” for the definitive “divorce” from the corrupt and criminalized Albanian institutions. It is also a civilizing proposal for the new governing model, after the removal from the public stage of the figures and protagonists who brought Albania to the brink of ruin and evident chaos.
Sixth, the fact and act that the organizers have put forward “ultimate” demands best proves that the civic protest is definitely entering the orbit of a fair political competition with the former subjects of the establishment. Which means that; here we are either dealing with a psychological fatigue of the protesters, where “transition fatigue” is being temporarily used as a justification and satisfaction to transform this revolt into total civic disobedience, or we are dealing with clear political ambitions and goals of a new caste, which, in the name of the civic “address”, is calculating a new redistribution of the “cake” of power.
